BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
JOHN KEATS (1795—1821) was born in London and educated at the Ensfield school where a sympathetic headmaster inspired his passion for literature. After leaving school, he qualified himself for surgery but abandoned it for poetry. He published his first volume of verse in 1817 and Endymion in 1818. Endymion was harshly criticized in some of the leading journals, largely because keats was associated with leigh hunt against whom there was a good deal of politically inspired hostility. Byron, with characteristic irresponsibility, gave currency to a legend that keat’s shock at these attacks hastened his early death. Keats in fact was far too courageous and level-headed to take much notice of them, knowing that his poetry had won the admiration of other poets, notably Shelley, whose opinions he took more seriously than those of the critics writing for the Tory press. But 1818 was indeed a tragic year for keats. His brother Tom, whom he nursed devotedly through his last illness, died of tuberculosis and this was a grievous blow. Soon after his brother’s death, keats himself developed symptoms of the same disease. In 1820, he published a volume of poems which included lamia, Isabella and The Eve of saint agnes, a narrative poem of rich beauty. He also wrote several odse, of a which the best known are ode to a nightingale, Ode to a Grecian Urn and Ode to Autumn. These Odes show keat’s power at its greatest but some of his sonnets are also masterpieces.
In a vain attempt to save his health and life, some of keat’s friends arranged for him to go to Italy. He died and was buried at Rome. His death at an early age was perhaps the greatest disaster to befall English poetry. The power and breadth of his poetry showed every sign of developing vastly, his letters manifest great intellectual strength deep critical insight and complete dedication to poetry. At its greatest his poetry has a rich beauty unmatched since the age of Shakespeare.
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